J. Bio. Env. Sci. 2016 Journal of Biodiversity and Environmental Sciences (JBES) ISSN: 2220-6663 (Print) 2222-3045 (Online) Vol. 8, No. 2, p. 104-113, 2016 http://www.innspub.net RESEARCH PAPER
OPEN ACCESS
Distribution of ground dwelling spider genera among berseem crop at Okara district, Pakistan Muhammad Arshad Rana1*, Munaza Shabnam2, Naureen Rana3, Tayyba Sultana4, Salma Sultana4, Sobia Kanwal3, Imran Ahmad4 1
Department of Zoology, Govt. Postgraduate College Okara, Pakistan
2
Department of Biology, Govt. Postgraduate College for Women Sahiwal, Pakistan
3
Department of Zoology, Wildlife and Fisheries, UAF, Pakistan
4
Department of Zoology, Govt. College University Faisalabad, Pakistan Article published on February 11, 2016
Key words: Ground dwelling, Spider, Pitfall, Population, Transect.
Abstract The present study was designed to record the distribution of ground dwelling spider genera among berseem crop at Okara district. Sampling was made from Trifolium crop on fortnight basis through pitfall traps. Equal number of traps were placed in three rows e.g. along the boundary, middle of the field and centre of the field. Each trap was filled with mixture solution of alcohol and glycerin (70:30%) along with few drops of kerosene oil. After 5 days interval sample traps was collected and spider specimens were washed with distilled water and permanently stored in labeled glass vials, and brought into the Pest Control Laboratory, Departmentof Zoology, Wildlife and Fisheries, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad. Thereafter, each spider specimen was identified according to the taxonomic material and internet source. Identified data was analyzed statistically to quantify their spatial distribution. Overall maximum spatial distribution of spider population was documented in middle transect than boundary and centre of the berseem crop. It was also observed that temperature, humidity, vegetation and prey availability were the major factors that effecting the spider population. Population variations were recorded during the months of February, March and April in 2015, due to rise of temperature, decrease of humidity and availability of prey. It was concluded that despite to cosmopolitan nature, spiders have some correlation with suitable local conditions or habitat. More over, spiders are cost effective, functionally significant and play a key role in regulating decomposer population. *Corresponding
Author: Muhammad Arshad Rana  marshadrana719@gmail.com
104 | Rana et al.
J. Bio. Env. Sci. 2016 Introduction
crops
and
consequently
Fodder crops are particularly refer to food for animals
ecosystems.
or live-stock. They comprise of straw, hay, pelleted
conserve the diversity of natural enemies (including
feed, silage, oils, legumes and sprouted grains.
spiders) of arthropod pest
Currently in Pakistan, various fodder crops are
(Douglas et al., 2000).
By
habitat
safeguard management.
the We
agrocan
cultivated over 15 million hectares with 52 million ton annual
fodder
production
(Anonymous,
2013).
Spider’s abundance and diversity vary in different
However, suitable rainfall and temperature range can
agro-ecosystems and they have temporo-spatial
enhance the present outcomes (Hussain et al., 2010).
distribution in all agricultural lands to effectively
Because, in many parts of Pakistan, there is abrupt
destruct the insect pest population (Seyfulina and
shortage of fodder for live-stock, and also the
Tshernyshev, 2001; Seyfulina, 2003). Their breeding
available fodder is of poor quality.
success is directly related to amount of precipitation which act as potential factors to affect the abundance
The farmers are facing a lot of problems to get
and species richness (Thomas et al., 2014). They are
maximum forage yield to meet the feed requirements.
most important arthropods for economic point of
Improved fodder varieties along with control of
view playing role as biological control agent and their
damage by invading insect pest can overcome the
adaptation towards different habitats (Kazim et al.,
situation. In this context, berseem provides valuable
2014).
supplemental food to live-stock community e.g. nitrogen,
vitamins.
Keeping in view the importance of spider densities
Consequently, it increase the availability of nutrients
energy,
and role of berseem in live-stock sector, the present
for
study was designed to record the population
maintenance
minerals and
ideal
and
production
status.
(Douglas et al., 2000).
dynamics and spatial distribution of ground dwelling spider families and genea among berseem crop at
However, fodder crops especially, berseem provide
Okara district.
more than 80% feeding to live-stock from October to April (Younas and Yaqoob, 2005). But, its production
Materials and methods
is low due to serious insect damage. Berseem
Study area
(Trifolium alexandrinum) is important Rabi legume
The present study was designed to record spatial
grown for green fodder. It is able to prepare about
distribution of ground dwelling spiders among
seven cuts of forages. (Khalil and Jan, 2000).
berseem crop at Okara district. Because information about their distribution in any agro-ecosystem was
To enhance the yield, control of insect pests is a major
pre-requisite to formulate any strategy to use them
issue and use of spiders to control these insect pests is
for bio-control purposes.
of profound importance. Spiders have globally more than 40,000 identified species (Platnick, 2012). They
Presently, these informations were recorded from
have
highly
Okara district. Trifolium crop was cultivated in one
diversified terrestrial predator especially in agro-
acre rectangular field. The sampling field was
ecosystems (Wise, 1993).
surrounded by wheat fields from two sides, where as
remarkable
abundance
and
are
on third side, it was surrounded by a Trifolium and They can play a pivotal role in keeping insect and pest
Mustard field.
populations in check and balance and they are also serve as food for birds, snakes, fish and other animals.
Okara district
They eat insects and bugs which destroy different
Okara district is situated in Punjab province at 30,
105 | Rana et al.
J. Bio. Env. Sci. 2016 8081
(304829.160�N)
latitude
and
73,
4458
reference material. The field of berseem was sampled
(732644.880�E) longitude. This district is bounded
after 5 days intervals right from the pre-harvest stage.
on the East by Kasur district, Sahiwal and Pakpattan
More over, minimum and maximum temperature and
districts on the West, Sheikhupura and Faisalabad
humidity of area was also recorded.
districts on the North and Bahawalnagar district on the South. The Indian border also lies on the South-
Preservation
Eastern side of the district. Okara district has a total
All traps were taken to Pest Control Laboratory,
area of 4,377 square kilometres and comprises of
Department of Zoology, Wildlife and Fisheries,
three tehsils i.e. Okara, Depalpur and Renala Khurd.
University of Agriculture, Faisalabad. Where the specimens were washed with xylene and preserved
Climate
in 95% ethanol containing few drops of glycerin.
The climate of the Okara district is hot in summer and
Specimens were preserved separately in small glass
cold in winter. May and June are hottest months and
vials indicating with trap number and the date of
January is the coldest one.Temperature ranges
capture.
between 36-440C in summer and 2-280C in winter. Soil of the district is loamy and sandy loamy with
Identification
annual rainfall up to 200 mm.
The collected samples were identified with the aid of naked
eye,
magnifying
glass
and
under
the
Sampling design and techniques
microscope. All the specimens were identified up to
The sampling was carried out from October, 2014
species level according to the taxonomic and
through April, 2015 to collect the ground dwelling
reference material (Tikader and Malhotra (1982),
spider fauna in berseem crop.Total thirty traps were
Tikader and Biswas (1981), Barrion and Litsinger
set in the field for five successive days. The two
(1995), Zhu et al. (2003), Platnick (2012), other
successive traps were at equal distance from each
relevant literature and internet source.
other and the distance from outer boundary of the field was 5m. Pitfall traps were 12cm long glass jars
Statistical analysis
with 6cm (diameter) wide mouths. Each trap
Thereafter, all the identified specimens were arranged
contained 150 ml of 70% ethyl alcohol and a small
in table form according to their morphological
amount of kerosene oil which served as preservative
characters e.g. family, genus. To determine the
and killing agent.Ten pitfall traps were laid along
various aspects of diversity, Shannon Diversity Index
each transect line i.e. boundary, middle and centre at
was used (Magurran, 1988). Analysis of Variance was
an equal interval from each other.
made to compare the population means between three transects, i.e. Boundary, middle and centre of
Collection of data
berseem crop. The richness, diversity and evenness
For berseem crop, ideal field measuring 7200 sq. ft.
indices were computed by using the Programme
were selected to observe the spatial distribution of
SPDIVERS.BAS.
ground dwelling spiders through pitfall trap method. However, trapping was made by three layers inside
Results
the field radius wise to observe the infestation along
The present study was conducted to highlight the
the entire field. Data was collected fortnightly and
spatial distribution of ground dwelling spiders among
collected specimens were brought into the Pest
berseem crop at Okara district. A total number of 463
Control Laboratory, Departmentof Zoology, Wildlife
specimen pertaining to 25 genera and 7 families
and Fisheries, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad.
among berseem crop were identified from Okara
All the specimens were identified according to the
district (Table 1).
106 | Rana et al.
J. Bio. Env. Sci. 2016 Table 1. The number of families, specimen and genera recorded from berseem field at Okara district. Sr.No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Total
Families Araneidae Clubionidae Gnaphosidae Linyphiidae Lycosidae Salticidae Thomisidea 7
No. of Specimen 34 20 122 63 165 37 22 463
No. of Genera 4 1 5 3 5 4 3 25
Table 2. Monthly record of spider families captured from berseem crop at Okara district. Families Araneidae Clubionidae Gnaphosidae Linyphiidae Lycosidae Salticidae Thomisidea Grand Total
No.of spiders in Nov-14 2 0 9 5 11 3 3 33
No.of spiders in Dec-14 2 0 3 3 4 1 1 14
No.of spiders in Jan-15 0 0 1 3 3 0 1 8
No.of spiders in Feb-15 4 3 18 7 25 8 3 68
No.of spiders in Mar-15 9 5 31 14 50 10 6 125
No.of spiders in Apr-15 17 12 60 31 72 15 8 215
Total No. of spiders 34 20 122 63 165 37 22 463
Population variations among families in berseem
by Flat bellied ground spiders – family Gnaphosidae
crop
(N = 122), Sheat weaver spiders – family Linyphiidae
Data presented in Table 2, is pertaining to family’s
(N = 63), Jumping spiders – family Salticidae (N =
wise comparison of spiders’ population recorded from
37), Orb-weaver spiders – family Araneidae (N = 34),
two fodder crops during the study. In Berseem crop,
Crab spiders-- family--Thomisidea (N = 22) and Sac
the population of wolf spiders – family Lycosidae was
spiders-- family—Clubionidae (N = 21) respectively.
recorded with highest population (N = 165), followed Table 3. Population variations of spider genera among berseem field at Okara district. Family Araneidae
Clubionidae Gnaphosidae
Linyphiidae
Lycosidae
Salticidae
Thomisidea
Genera Araneus Clerck, 1757 Gea C. L. Koch, 1843 Neoscona Simon, 1864 Cyclosa Menge, 1866 Clubiona latreille,1804 Drassodes Gnaphosa Latreille, 1804 Scotophaeus Simon, 1893 Zelotes Gistel, 1848 Micaria Westring, 1851 Tapinocyboides Wiehle, 1960 Tchatkalophantes Tanasevitch, 2001 Tiso Simon, 1884 Evippa Simon, 1882 Hogna Simon,1885 Lycosa Latreille, 1804 Pardosa C. L. Koch, 1847 Trochosa C. L. Koch, 1847 Myrmarachne MacLeay, 1839 Phlegra Simon, 1876 Plexippus C. L. Koch, 1846 Sitticus Simon, 1901 Runcinia Simon, 1875 Thomisus Walckenaer, 1805 Xysticus Grand Total
Nov-14 1 0 1 0 0 4 2 2 1 0 1 2 2 5 1 3 2 0 2 1 0 1 1 1 33
Dec-14 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 2 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 14
107 | Rana et al.
Jan-15 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 8
Feb-15 3 0 1 0 3 8 3 3 4 0 2 3 2 14 1 8 2 0 2 2 1 3 3 0 68
Mar-15 2 2 3 2 5 12 6 5 6 2 5 4 5 21 2 18 8 1 4 2 2 2 2 2 2 125
Apr-15 5 4 3 5 12 20 11 10 14 5 16 8 7 36 3 20 12 1 5 4 3 3 2 4 2 215
Total 11 8 8 7 20 47 22 20 26 7 25 20 18 79 8 50 26 2 13 9 7 8 7 10 5 463
J. Bio. Env. Sci. 2016 The maximum population of wolf spiders – family
family Thomisidea and
Lycosidae was recorded due to that they were strictly
Clubionidae was recorded from berseem field.Their
ground dwelling spiders. Second and third highest
low population was recorded due to that they live in
population recorded were of
Flat bellied ground
leaf litter and shaddy areas. The study area was
spiders – family Gnaphosidae and Sheat weaver
surrounded by wheat crops from north and east side
spiders – family Linyphiidae respectively due to the
and mustard crop from west side. Whole cultivated
reason that they were also ground living and live in
area was comprised of crop land and there was no
high vegetation density,
therefore
Sac
spiders -- family
the existing
shaddy tree near the study area. Another reason for
environment was supportive for them. However
their least collection was that, they were foliage
minimum population of identified spiders in case of
spiders and pitfall method was applied for the
Jumping spiders – family Salticidae followed by Orb-
collection of spiders.
weaver spiders – family Araneidae, Crab spiders-Table 4. Number of genera (S), total number of samples (N), Shannon diversity index, Lambda value and Evenness for transect-wise monthly data of berseem crop for different genera. Site
Month
S
N
H' Shannon
Lambda
Evenness
Dominance
Boundary
Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr.
11 6 3 15 19 25 9 5 5 18 25 23 5 2 4 11 16
17 6 3 24 45 73 12 5 5 40 66 103 5 2 4 14 39
2.2624 1.7918 1.0986 2.5209 2.6839 2.9098 2.0947 1.6094 1.6094 2.6485 2.8543 2.8428 1.6094 0.6932 1.3863 2.3420 2.4830
0.1211 0.1667 0.3333 0.0972 0.0884 0.0696 0.1389 0.2000 0.2000 0.0938 0.0804 0.0755 0.2000 0.5000 0.2500 0.1020 0.1059
0.9435 1.0000 1.0000 0.9309 0.9115 0.9040 0.9534 1.0000 1.0000 0.9163 0.8868 0.9067 1.0000 1.0000 1.0000 0.9767 0.8956
0.0565 0.000 0.000 0.0691 0.0885 0.096 0.0466 0.000 0.000 0.0837 0.1132 0.0933 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.0233 0.1044
Middle
Center
Where
S = Number of species
N = Total number of samples (sum). Population variations among genera in berseem
(N=7), Plexipus (N=7), Runcinia (N=7), Xysticus
crop
(N=5), and Trochosa (N=2) respectively.
Data presented in Table 3, is regarding the comparison of spider’s population among genera
Least population was recorded in case of genus
recorded in berseem field during the study. Out of 25
Cyclosa, Micaria, plexipus, Runcinia, Xysticus, and
genera, maximum population of identified genera was
Trochosa respectively. Because they were ground
recorded in case of genus Evapa (N=79) followed by
dwelling spiders and live in shelter places while in
Lycosa (N=50) and Drassodes (N=47) respectively.
berseem field, fodder was cut down again and again
Minimum population of identified spider genera was
that’s why their minimum population was recorded.
recorded in case of genus Cyclosa (N=7), Micaria
108 | Rana et al.
J. Bio. Env. Sci. 2016 Table 5. Number of genera(S), total number of samples(N), Shannon diversity index, Lambda value, Evenness and dominance for transect-wise monthly record of berseem crop for different genera. Month
S
N
H Shannon
Lambda
Evenness
Dominance
November
18
33
2.7327
0.0762
0.9455
0.0545
December
11
14
2.342
0.102
0.9767
0.0233
January
7
8
1.9062
0.1563
0.9796
0.0204
February
19
68
2.6641
0.0921
0.9048
0.0952
March
25
125
2.8624
0.0788
0.8893
0.1107
April
25
215
2.8859
0.0728
0.8966
0.1034
Spatial diversity of spider genera in berseem
dominance 0.1132 and at centre, maximum diversity
cropData presented in Tabl 4, is pertaining the month
2.3420,
wise comparison of diversity indices among species at
0.0233.During
three trasects i.e. boundary, middle and centre of the
diversity (H) at boundary recorded was 2.9098,
berseem crop. During the month of November
eveness 0.9040 and dominance was 0.096 when
maximum diversity (H) at boundary recorded was
compared with middle, maximum diversity was
2.2624, eveness 0.9435 and dominance was 0.0565
2.8428, eveness 0.9067, and dominance 0.0933 and
when compared with middle, maximum diversity was
at centre, maximum diversity 2.4830, eveness 0.8956
2.0947, eveness 0.9534, and dominance 0.0466. and
and dominance 0.1044. Overall maximum diversity
at centre, maximum diversity 1.6094, eveness 1.0000
(H�) recorded in the month of April at the boundary
and
of
was 2.9098, eveness 0.9040 and dominance was
December maximum diversity (H) at boundary
0.096 respectively, when compared with boundary
recorded was 1.7918, eveness 1.0000 and dominance
and centre of the berseem crop.
dominance
0.0000.During
the
month
eveness the
0.9767 month
and of
dominance
April,
maximum
was 0.0000, when compared with middle, maximum diversity
was
1.6094,
eveness
1.0000,
and
Overall comparison of diversity indices among
dominance 0.000. and at centre, maximum diversity
berseem crop
0.6932,
dominance
Data presented in Table 5, is pertaining the month
0.0000.During the month of January maximum
wise comparison of diversity indices among genera
diversity (H) at boundary recorded was 1.0986,
from Berseem crop. Overall genera wise maximum
eveness 1.0000 and dominance was 0.0000 when
diversity (H�) recorded in Berseem crop during the
compared with middle, maximum diversity was
month of November was 3.7327, evenness 0.9455 and
1.6094, eveness 1.0000, and dominance 0.000. and
dominance 0.0545 respectively. During the month of
no diversity was recorded in centre.During the month
December maximum diversity 2.3420, evenness
of February maximum diversity (H) at boundary
0.9767 and dominance 0.0233 was recorded. During
recorded was 2.5209, eveness 0.9309 and dominance
the month of January maximum diversity 1.9062,
was 0.0691 when compared with middle, maximum
evenness
diversity was 2.6485, eveness 0.9163, and dominance
recorded. During the month of February maximum
0.0837. and at centre, maximum diversity 1.3863,
diversity 2.6641, evenness 0.9048 and dominance
eveness 1.0000 and dominance 0.0000.During the
0.0952 was recorded. During the month of March
month of March maximum diversity ( H�) at
maximum diversity 2.8624, evenness 0.8893 and
boundary recorded was 2.6839, eveness 0.9115 and
dominance 0.1107 was recorded. During the month of
dominance was 0.0885 when compared with middle,
April maximum diversity 2.8859, evenness 0.8966
maximum diversity was 2.8543, eveness 0.8868, and
and
eveness
1.0000
and
109 | Rana et al.
0.9796
dominance
and
dominance
0.1034
was
0.0204
was
recorded.
J. Bio. Env. Sci. 2016 Table 6. Analysis of variance table for transect-wise abundance of different genera for different crops. Source of variation
Degrees
of
Sum of squares
Mean squares
F-value
freedom Months
5
16332.6
3266.51
20.98**
Crop
1
49.0
49.00
0.31NS
Transect
2
4423.7
2211.86
14.20**
Crop x Transect
2
24.5
12.25
0.08NS
Error
25
3893.1
155.72
Total
35
24722.9
NS = Non-significant (P>0.05); * = Significant (P<0.05); ** = Highly significant (P<0.01). Month wise mean ± SE. Month
Mean ± SE
November-14
11.50±3.03
CD
December-14
4.00±0.82
D
January-15
2.33±0.71
D
February-15
26.33±6.73
C
March-15
42.33±9.22
B
April-15
60.83±11.79
A
Means sharing similar letters are statistically non-significant (P>0.05). Crops x Transect interaction mean ± SE. Transect
Berseem Crop Mean ± SE
Boundary
28.00
± 10.89A
Middle
38.50
± 16.19A
Center
10.67
± 6.00B
Mean
25.72
± 6.97A
Means sharing similar letter in a row or in a column are statistically non-significant (P>0.05). Maximum diversity 2.8859 was recorded during the month
of
April
.while
evenness
0.9796,
Clubionidae 4% respectively.
and
dominance 0.1107 were recoded during the month of
Ecological distribution
January and March respectively.
Temperature of the country is increasing day by day due to global warming. Consequently, the change in
Relative abundance
temperature
Pie graph (Fig. 1) represent the relative abundance of
environment. Due to change of temperature and
identified spider families in berseem crop at Okara
humidity, imbalanece the relation ship between
district.
was
organism and the environment (Table 7). This issue
recorded in case of family Lycosidae 36% followed by
was observed on scientific basis among ground
Gnaphosidae 26% and Lyniphiidae 14%. Minimum
dwelling spiders to record the effect of ecological
abundance of spiders was recorded in family
changes. It was recorded that population of spiders
Araneidae 7% followed by Thomisidae 5% and
was increased with the increase in temperature and
Maximum
abundance
of
spiders
110 | Rana et al.
also
alter
the
humidity
of
the
J. Bio. Env. Sci. 2016 decreasing tendency was recorded in case of
against temperatures that are prohibitively low for
humidity. Because, breeding season of spiders started
reproduction. From these results, it was concluded
during April and peaks were recorded with the
that variations in population density were due to
increase in temperature. Temperature also affects the
effect of temperature, humidity, availability of prey,
body processes and egg development. They concluded
nature of crop rotation and pesticides uses instead of
that females may be able to protect themselves
ecological successions.
Table 7. Monthly average temperature (maximum and minimum), percentage of humidity recorded from Okara district. Month
Average maximum temperature °C Average minimum temperature °C Average relative humidity
Novermber
27.2
8.7
85%
December
18.9
4.1
90.50%
January
16.6
4.1
93.00%
February
22.3
6.7
78.50%
March
25.1
10
77.00%
April
32.5
16.6
78.00%
Analysis of variance
upset the all ecological pyramids and natural cycling.
Data represented in Table 6, pertaining to Analysis of
Sustainable prey and predator status is limiting for
variance for transect-wise abundance of different
integrity of any natural system for long term
genera of spiders for berseem crop.The mean number
functions.
of spider genera in berseem at district Okara was statistically similar. The mean number of spider’s
Discussion
population month wise and transect wise were
Seasonal variations in spider population
statistically highly significant (P<0.01). The mean
Evidences regarding sesaonal variations of spider
number of spider’s population during the month of
population was underlined by considering the
December (4.00±0.82) and January (2.33±0.71) were
findings of previous researchers because field type,
statistically non significant (P>0.05), when compared
management pattern, agronomic operations and use
with mean number in November (11.50±3.03),
of pesticides, soil culture and floral structures
February (26.33±6.73), March (42.33±9.22) and
significantly affect spider’s population (Liljesthrom et
April
significan
al., 2002; Ahmad et al., 2005; Pradeep et al., 2015).
(P<0.05). Crop x Transect-wise mean number of
It was also estimated that start of breeding season,
spider genera in boundary (27.75±6.68) and middle
enhancment in growth and acceleration in maturity
(36.25±9.89)
significant
were proportional to temperature and humidity. As
(P>0.05) when compared with mean number in
temperature reached above 25°C, start in breeding
centre
(60.83±11.79)
were
(9.63±3.38)
was
statistically
statistically was
non
significant
occur and with decrease in temperature up to the
(P<0.05) among berseem crop. Overall mean number
statistically
same situation and increase in humidity, it comes to
of spider genera in berseem (25.72±6.97) crop was
the end. Findings of present study are in agreement
statistically non significant (P>0.05).
with Rajeswaran et al. (2005); Dippenaar-Schoeman (2006); Mushtaq et al. (2003 & 2005); Kazim et al.
It is obvious from the indices calculations that spiders
(2014), Pradeep et al. (2015).
abundance decrease with the decrease in temperature and increase in humidity. Resultantly, ecological
It is obvious from the indices calculations that
imbalance of prey verses predators develops which
spider’s abundance decrease with the decrease in
111 | Rana et al.
J. Bio. Env. Sci. 2016 temperature and increase in humidity. These findings
predator status is limiting for integrity of any natural
support the earlier reports of Mushtaq et al. (2003 &
system for long term functions. These findings are in
2005); Iqbal et al. (2009) and Pradeep et al. (2015).
same cotext as reported by Rajeswaran et al. (2005);
Resultantly, ecological imbalance of prey verses
Dippenaar-Schoeman (2006); Mushtaq et al. (2003 &
predators develops which upset the all ecological
2005); Kazim et al. (2014), Pradeep et al. (2015).
pyramids and natural cycling. Sustainable prey and
Fig. 1. Pie graph represent the relative abundance of spider families in berseem crop. Conclusion
of South and South Asia. International Rice Research
Hence, it was concluded from the present work that
Institute Philphines.
despite to cosmopolitan nature, spiders have some correlation with suitable local conditions or habitat.
Dippenaar-Schoeman A. 2006. Spiders - The
However,
African Farmer's Best Friend. Science in Africa -
it
was
also
observed
that
spiderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
population in the same study region were also
Africa's First On-Line Science Magazine, 1-4 P.
effected by increase or decrease in temperature and humidity. So, there is necessity of future research for
Douglas AL, Stephen DW, Geoff MG. 2000.
the proper use of spider fauna as biological control
Habitat management to conserve natural enemies of
agent in IPM programmes.
arthropod pests in agriculture. Annu. Rev. Ent., 45: 175-201.
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